Packaging machine



March 7,' 1939.

J. MAZER 2,149,400

PACKAGI NG MACHI NE Filed Jy s, 1937 s sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR Ja-10012 Mager ATTORNEY Filed July 3, 1937 3 Sheets-Shet' 2 INV ENTOR Ala/36)" BY I ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This 'invention relates to a method and machine for forming 'a package, 'and is particularly directed to the forming of a box of cardb'oard or other semi-rigid material about 'an article.

3. I vCognizan'ce is taken of other devices for formln'g wrappings about articles, but such devices are generally 'adapted toenvelcp the 'article with a 'flexible sheet 'of wrapping'm'ateria'l, such as relatively lsoft paper, Glassine or the like. Be-

101 cause of the fact that packages formed with fiexible Wrapp'ers are frequently of non-uniform configuration 'and are generally not convenient or safe to handle, nor 'particularly presentable in appearance 'due to visible protuberances extend- 131 ing therefrom', many packers 'and shippers prefer to employ c artons of relatively stiff material instead of 'soft paper wrappings; 'and it is a lcommon expedient 'to first forml such boxes or cartons from slitted kand 'scored blanks, and there- 20 after to place the article to' be packed therein. It is one of the objects o'f this invention to form the 'box 'about the article to be packed therein, thereby Combining the steps of box-forming and packaging, with resultant economies in time and 25 labor.

In packing articles of a 'compre'ssible or resilient nature, it is frequentlyfound that' the outwa'rd pressure caused by Vthe resiliency of the material frequently produces 'a bulging of the 30, packageand at 'times an lopening of the scams, particularly where extremely pliable Aor soft lwrapping materials are employed. It ls ywithin the further contemplatio'n of this invention to employ the 'method and mechanical embodiment 35. thereof for 'producing'a box of semi-rigid material about a compressible or resilient article, such as a package of napkins, in such a manner as to produce a firm, neatand presentable carton closure.

Other objects, featuresand advantages will appear from the'drawings andthe description hereinafter given.

Essentially, this invention includes the steps of scoring andslitting a box'blan'k of cardboard or other 'similar' semi-rigid material to define portions serving 'as the various walls of the box, and then to place upon one' of such 'portions the article. 'There'after the 'other portions of the blank are swung about adjacent scorings until they are brought into engagement with the article, the relative 'stiifness lor rigidity of the material'of the blank enablingj'the required 'swingi-ng or folding movements 'to be effectuated with a f ofeffort. Andin one 'form of this in- Ivention; applicable to al yield'able article, the box blank and article positioned thereover are mounted upon a vertically movable platform, and pressure brought to bear upon the top of the article' thereby simultaneously compressing lit and causing the platform to move downwardly to a predetermined position, and retained there,- some of the' box-forming operations being performed during the downward movementI of the platform, and others therea'fter as Will more specifically be hereinafter described.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure l shows a scored and slotted box blank with ka stack of napkins over one portion thereof to be packed and boxed in accordance with the teachings of this invention. 1'5

Figures 2, 3, '4, 5' 'and '6 represent the various stages of the carton during the steps of forming same 'over'the' package o'f 'napkins in accordance with this invention.

Figure' '7 represents the box blank, showing the scorin'gs, slits and patches of glue thereon.

Figure 8 is a vertical l'ongitudinal section of the completed package taken along line 8-8 of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is aside View of the device constituting the machine exemplification of this invention, showing the V'box blank and package of napkins on the table thereof prior to the 'packing operation.

Vli'igure v10 is a 'fragmentary vertical section of theV yieldably supported platform of Figure 9.

Figure 1`1 is aside view of a portion of the device of Figure 9 showing the position of the parts and the'partially formedy package after the completion of one of the steps of the method of this invention, the platform and load thereon having been forced downwardly by manual manipula't'ion.

Figure 12 is 'a view similar to Figure 11, showing the position of the parts of the device 'and the article after the side-end walls have been swung into place.

Figure 13 is a partial vertical section of Figure l`2'taken valong line iIli-13 showing the lowerend flaps being 'brought into 'position.

Figure 14' is a 'fra'gmentary Sectional View substantially similar toFigure 13 showing the lowerend ilapsl brought into their final position, and

Figure 15 is a fragmentary Sectional side View of the device illustrating the manual means of turning down the'upper end flaps and withdrawing the 'package from the machine.

In the drawings, the machine 20 contains thereon the tab1e`12-`l vhavingtherein the aperture 22; 'illustrated as being of rectangular'form, within which is mounted the platform 23. The box blank 24, suitably slotted and scored as indicated, is placed upon the table, with the bottom wall portion 25 superimposed and in substantial registry with the perphery of the said platform 23. Placed Within the confines of portion 25 is the article to be packed, illustrated as a resilient stack of napkins 26. The table 2| is provided, at oppositely disposed peripheries of the aperture 22, With the inwardly extending plates or abutments 21 and 23, these underlying the side-wall portions 29 and 30 of the box blank. The platform 23 is yieldably supported by the spring 31 positioned within the tube 32 which is telescopically mounted within the post or standard 33, the bottom of the spring being in abutment with the stop 34. This stop also serves the purpose of limiting the downward movement of the tube 32 and the platform 23 carried thereby.

Rotatably mounted on shafts 35 and 36 are the retaining members 31 and 38, the upper head portions of which have inwardly protruding projections 33 and 48 engaging the outwardly extending lips or flanges 4l and 42 respectively to hold the platform. in its normal position. The said retaining members are yieldably urged inwardly, preferably by spring action such as through the medium of the springs 43 and 44, respectively. The said retaining members contain arms 45 and 46, respectively, provided with 'adjustable stop screws 41 and 48 the terminals of which are abuttable with the frame portions 43 and 58 respectively, of the machine. By properly adjusting the said screws 41 and 48, the inward movement of the retaining members can be controlled in obvious manner. It should be noted that the said retaining members 31 and 38 are oppositely disposed below the aperture 22, the drawings illustrating (Figures 13 and 14) two such retaining members on each side. It will further be observed that the upper surfaces 51 and 52 of the retaining members are downwardly and inwardly inclined as clearly shown in Figures 9, 11 and 12, the undersurfaces of the head portions being preferably flat.

Rotatably mounted on the said shafts 35 and 36 are two sets of tuckers or end-fiap folding members, these being identified on one side by the reference numerals 53 and on the other side by the reference numerals 54. The arms 55 and 56 of said tuckers contain at the terminal portions thereof the rollers 51 and 58, respectively, which are engageable by the upper ends of the rocker arms 59 and 60 respectively, said latter arms being rotatably mounted at 6l and 62. The said rocker arms contain rollers or followers 63 and 64 which are engageable with the cams 65 and 66, respectively, forming part of the actuator member 61 slidable over the post 33.

The said slidable actuator 61 contains rigidly secured thereto two arms 68 and 69, the upper ends of which are engageable with the rollers 10 and 1 respectively. These rollers are suitably secured to the brackets 12 and 13 which are rotatably mounted upon the shafts 14 and 15 respeotively. The upper portion of the brackets contain the plates 16 and 11 as clearly shown in Figures 13 and 14.

The foot treadle 18 is suitably secured to the lever 19 mounted at 80, the opposite end 8l of the lever being pivotally secured to the link 82 which is pivotally attached to said actuator 61 at 83.

It will be noted that the said foot treadle 18 is maintained in its upper or normal position by the spring 84, and also that the tuckers 53 and 54 are urged into their normal unprojected positions by the springs 85 and 86, and that the brackets 12 and 13 are urged to their normal horizontal positions by the springs 81 and 88 (Figure 11) suitably connected to the shafts on which said brackets are mounted.

In carrying out the method of this invention, a box blank 24, preferably of cardboard or similar semi-rigid material is selected, the blank being scored and slitted in accordance with predetermined proportions to suit the ultimate size of the article to be packed, such as the stack of napkins 26. For the purpose of this specification, that portion of the blank intended to be the bottom of the box will be referred to as the bottom wall portion 25, the side wall portions being 29 and 30, the top wall portions 250 and 25b respectively, the side end portions 2911, 2911, 260 and 29d respectively, the lower end portions 250 and 25d respectively, and the upper end portions 256, 25f, 25g and 25k respectively.

The said box blank 24 is placed upon the table 2l, so that the bottom wall portion 25 directly overlies the platform 23; and thereafter the article, such as the stack of napkins 26, is placed over said portion 25. Pressure is applied to the top of the article 26, preferably by hand as indicated in Figure 11, thereby moving the platform 23 downwardly against the action of spring 3I until the platform reaches its lowermost position as shown in Figures 11 to 14 inclusive. As the platform is. being lowered, the abutments 21 and 28 engage the side wall por-tions 23 and 30 to gradually swing them upwardly about the scorings Sl and 52. Upon a continued downward movement of the platform, the said side wall portions 29 and 30 come into engagement with the upper downwardly inclined surfaces I and 52 of the retaining members 31 and 38 and are hence ultimately brought into engagement with the sides of the article 26. Inasmuch as the article illustrated is of a resilient nature, it will be compressed to reduced propor-tions as indicated, until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 11, at which point the said retaining members 31 and 38 will be yieldably urged inwardly by the springs 43 and 44, until the head portions 39 and 40 of said retaining members extend inwardly beyond the confines of the adjacent lateral edges of the platform 23. Inasmuch as the stack of napkins is being held downwardly by the hand as indicated, the relatively flat undersides of said head portions will engage the adjacent edges of the top wall portions 25a and 25b, to hold the napkins in their compressed state. Thereafter the hand is withdrawn to permit the said top portions of the box blank to be positioned over the top of the stack of napkins, as shown in Figure 12. In this position the partly formed box and the compressed contents thereof are securely held in place to permit further operations to be performed as will be hereinafter described.

At this point the operator depresses the treadle 16, to cause the link 82 and consequently the actuator 61 to move upwardly along the standard 33. Upon such an upward movement, the cams 65 and 66 will engage the rollers 63 and 64 and cause the rocker arms 59 and 60 to move outwardly, thereby actuating the arms 55 and 56 to produce an inward pivotal movement of the tuckers 53 and 54. The action of the tuckers is to engage the side end walls 2901, 2911, 290 and 29d and swing them inwardly about the adjacent scorings S3, 84, S5 and 56, against the artilil cle 26, to produce a partial closure such as is indicatedin Figures 4 and 12. Upon a continued upward movement of the actuator 61, the arms 68 and 69, being engageable with the rollers and 'H,will cause the brackets 12 and 13 to rotate about their respectivepivots 14 and 15 and thereby causev the plates -16 and 11 to engage the lower end portions 25 and 26 of the box blank and bring them into a vertical position against the previously formed walls, as is indicated in Figures 5, 13 and 14. It should be noted that after the Vouterrnost points 65a and Gfia of the cams liave passed, during their upward course of travel, the rollers 63 and 64, the tuckers 53 and 54 w'ill be retracted by the springs 85 and 86, this retraction occurring before the plates 16 and 'Il are brought into their ultimate vertical positions.

Upon a downward return of the actuator 51 under the influence of spring 84, the arms 68 and 69 will obviously be lowered, thereby permitting the' bracketsl 12 and 13 to be rotatably returned to their inoperative positions at which the said plates 16 and 'll are horizontally disposed.

It will be noted that at this point all the walls of the box are formed except the upper end portior'is along' the scori'n'g's 87, vSB, S?, and Sm, to

produce Va vcompletely enclosed carton as shown in Figures -15 and 6. Inasmuch as the plates 16 are, as aforesaid, in their horizontal positions, the can `leasily be slipped therepast and removed from the machine.

It will be observed that the box blank is provid'ed 'with patches of glue 89, Which can be fnois'tened during or after the process in any conventional manner to enable a suitable seal to be eifected when two wall portions are brought into engagement with each other.

Ina'siniih as the article 6 as illustrated in the drawings is a resilient mass, it is apparent that the package formed by the above-described method will produce a rigid carton with a nonshifting load therein, the contents being firmly held in place particularly by the upper and lower walls.

It thus* appears that by employing this process an article can be conveniently packed into a box during the box-forming operation, by a series of steps performed by a readily manipulated machine and by a few simple manual operations.

And it will also be noted that due to the relative stiffness or rigidity of the cardboard blank, the swinging or folding movements are efiectuated with a minimum of effort.

It is of course understood that other additional forms and modifications of the apparatus and adaptations of the method constituting this invention can be employed beyond and in addition to that hereinbefore described, all within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a packaging machine for forming a box of cardboard or other semi-rigid material about an article, a table for supporting a box blank scored and slitted to define portions thereof adapted to form the walls of the box, a vertically movable platform normally substantially in the plane of the table and adapted to underlie and support one of said portions of the blank and the said article placed thereon, said platform being movable to a final position below the level of the table, abutments on the table adjacent said platform for operatively engaging contiguous portions of the blank to swing them upwardly about adjacent scorings and against said article during the downward movement of the platform, retaining means for holding the platform carrying the article with the partly formed box in its said final position, means for successively swinging the remaining portions of the blank about adjacent scorings and against the article, and means for returning said platform to its normal position.

2. In a packaging machine, a table, a yieldably mounted vertically movable platform contained therein and normally substantially level therewith, stop means to hold the platform against movement below a predetermined final position, retaining members fianking the platform and yieldably urged inwardly into overlapping relation with adjacent edges thereof, said members being in spaced relation to the platform when in its said final position whereby an article positioned upon said platform will be held between the said members and the platform.

3. In a packaging machine, a table containing an aperture therein, a yieldably mounted vertically movable platform within said aperture and normally substantially level with the table, said platform being adapted to support a portion of a box-blank and an article placed thereover, the platform with the blank and article thereon being movable to a predetermined final position below the level of the table, abutments at oppositely positioned peripheries of said aperture for operatively engaging adjacent portions of the blank to swing them upwardly against said article during the downward movement of the platform,

vand means below said aperture for successively swinging portions of said blank against the article on the platform while it is in its said final position.

4. In a packaging machine, a table containing an l'aperture therein, a yieldably mounted vertically movable platform within said aperture and normally substantially level with the table, said platform being adapted to support a portion of a box-blank and an article placed thereover, the platform with the blank and article thereon being movable to a predetermined final position below the level of the table, abutments at oppositely positioned peripheries of said aperture for operatively engaging adjacent portions of the blank to swing them upwardly against said article during the downward movement of the platform, oppositely positioned retaining members within said aperture and fianking said platform, yieldable means urging the said members inwardly into overlapping relation with adjacent edges of said platform and in spaced relation thereto when it is in its said final position, whereby said article will be held between said members and the platform, and means below said aperture for successively engaging portions of said blank to swing them against the article on the platform while in its said final positions.

5. In a packaging machine for forming a box of cardboard or other semi-rigid material about an article, a table for supporting a box blank scored and slitted to define portions thereof adapted to form the walls of the box, said table containing a laterally enclosed aperture therein, a yieldably mounted vertically movable platform within said aperture and normally substantially level with the table, said platform being adapted to support one of the portions of said blank and the article placed thereover, said platform being movable to a final position below the level of the table, abutments at oppositely positioned peripheries of said aperture for operatively engaging contiguous portions 'of the blank to swing them upwardly about adjacent scorings and against said article during the downward movement of the platform, and retaining means for holding the platform and its load in said final position, thereby permitting the remaining portions of the blank to be formed about the articles while in said position.

6. In a packaging machine, a table containing an aperture therein, a yieldably mounted Vertically movable platform Within said aperture and normally substantially level with the table, said platform being adapted to support a portion of a box-blank and an article placed thereover, the platform with the blank and article thereon being movable to a predetermined final position below the level of the table, yieldably mounted retaining members within said aperture and containing projecting portions normally urged into overlapping relation with adjacent edges of the platform, said projecting portions being in spaced relation to the platform when it is in its said final position and adapted to engage the top of the article thereon to hold the platform and its load in said final position, and means below said aperture for successively engaging portions of said blank to swing them against the article on the platform while in its said final positions.

7. In a packaging machine for forming a box of cardboard or other semi-rigid material about an article, a table for supporting a box blank scored and slitted to define portions thereof adapted to form the walls of the box, said table containing an aperture therein, a yieldably mounted vertically movable platform within said aperture and normally substantially level with the table, said platform being adapted to support one of the portions of said blank and the article placed thereover, said platform being movable to a final position below the level of the table, abutments at oppositely positioned perpheres of said aper'- ture for operatively engaging contiguous portions of the blank to swing them upwardly about adjacent scorings and against said article during the downward movement of the platform, and oppositely positioned yieldably mounted retaining members within said aperture and containing projecting portions normally urged into overlapping relation with adjacent edges of the platform, said projecting portions havin-g downwardly and inwardly sloping upper surfaces and substantially fiat undersurfaces in parallel spaced relation to the platform When it is in its said final position and adapted to engage the top of the article thereon to hold the platform and its load in said final position, thereby permitting the remaining portions of the blank to be formed about the articles while in said position and the completed box to be slidably removed from under said projecting portions.

8. In a packaging machine, a table containing an aperture therein, a yieldably mounted vertically movable platform within said aperture and normally substantially level with the table, said platform being adapted to support a portion of a box-blank and an article placed thereover, the platform with the blank and article thereon being movable to a predetermined final position below the level of the table, abutments at oppositely positioned peripheries of said aperture for operatively engaging adjacent portions of the blank to swing them upwardly against said article during the ldownward movement of the platform, means within said aperture to retain the platform and its load in the said final position, a pair of pivotally mounted tuckers below said aperture and at opposite ends of the platform and movable inwardly for engaging the side-end wall portions of the blank and swinging them against the article, a swingably mounted plate at each of said opposite ends of the platform and movable upwardly for engaging the lower-end wall portions of the blank and swinging them upwardly into a vertical position, and means to operatively actuate first said tuckers and then said plates while the platform is in its said final position.

JACOB MAZER. 

